


Dark Palace of the Heart

by pandorabox82



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Holby City
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-04-24
Packaged: 2019-04-06 13:49:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14058327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandorabox82/pseuds/pandorabox82
Summary: After a patient stabs the newest psychologist at Holby, Bernie and Serena learn there is more to her than meets the eye. But when her friend comes to take care of her, will there be more chaos than either of them ever anticipated?





	1. Chapter 1

"When did we call for a psych consult?" Bernie asked as she looked at the older blonde sitting on the corner of one of their younger patient's bed. She was talking intently with the young woman, and Bernie could tell that there was a real rapport between the two, even without hearing what was being discussed.

"Jasmine called her down, when she noticed the cutting marks on Ms Becker's upper thigh. I agreed with her assessment, and Doctor Brooks came down as quickly as she could."

Bernie nodded as she reached out and closed her hand around Serena's upper arm. "Do you know much about her? I've seen her talking to Hanssen in Pulses, and they seem to be on friendly terms, but there's just never been the opportunity for me to get to know her."

Serena looked up and shrugged, the corner of her mouth ticking up in a small smirk. "I may have had a conversation or two with her."

She tried not to feel jealous, but she couldn't help the small thrum of possessiveness that ran through her as she fixed her gaze on Doctor Brooks once more. And it was a good thing that she did happen to look up in that moment, since it was in time to see their patient pull out a small paring knife and jab it repeatedly into the soft flesh of the woman's abdomen. Bright red blood blossomed out on her blouse, and Bernie dropped the folder she was holding as her training kicked in and she ran over to the bed, Serena hot at her heels, yelling for Fletch and Ollie.

Ric was the first one who made it to their side, however, and he snatched the knife from the young woman's hand as Fletch began to wrestle the woman's arms into restraints. While that was going on in the background, an orderly hurriedly ran over to them with a trolley, and Ollie helped her lift Doctor Brooks onto it as Serena began to unbutton her blouse in order to take a closer look at the wounds.

"I think one of these might have nicked an artery," she murmured as she glanced up at Bernie. "We need to get her into surgery, now."

Bernie nodded and waved Ollie off, knowing that she and Serena could handle this together. Jasmine, though, seemed to have other things in mind as she followed them into theatre, scrubbing in alongside them as she worried her lower lip between her teeth. "I don't believe we need another pair of hands here, Doctor Burrows," she said gruffly, and Jasmine shook her head violently.

"She's helped me out, so much, in the last few months. At least let me observe?"

This was a new facet to the young woman, and from the look Serena shot Jasmine, she hadn't known that, either. "That will be fine, Jasmine. I'm certain Doctor Brooks would like to know there's a friendly face watching over her," Serena replied as she finished up, allowing the nurse to help her into her gown before striding into theatre, Jasmine close at her heels.

Bernie trailed after them, nodding to the anesthetist before focusing in on the surgery at hand. Serena had been right, the patient had nicked an artery in the attack, and as she opened the abdomen to see what other damage had been done, she gasped a little to see the C-section scar so similar to her own. "I didn't know that she had children," she murmured lowly, meeting Jasmine's eye for the answer to a question she hadn't known to ask.

"She doesn't," was the quick reply from the young woman's lips, and Bernie frowned with suspicion as she and Serena worked on repairing the damage done.

"Doctor Burrows, I'd like for you to go to Mister Hanssen and dig into her personnel file. You need to contact her family and inform them of what has occurred. And before you say that you want to stay here, this is more important right now."

Jasmine made a displeased face as she got up from the stool she was sitting on, making her way over to the door before giving Doctor Brooks one last look. "I don't know what you're getting at, Bernie," Serena said as she hastily repaired the artery before moving on to repairing the liver damage.

"There's something decidedly hinky about the fact that she clearly has had children at some point in her life, and yet Jasmine has no idea that such children exist."

"Maybe she was a surrogate at some point in her life. Or put the child up for adoption. There doesn't have to be a nefarious plot behind every seeming inconsistency in a life."

Bernie shrugged a little as she helped Serena to finish up the surgeries, and then they were closing her up. "I think that I know that, but still, I'll feel better when we know more about her past from Hanssen. Ever since that whole business with Rossini, I just like to know as much as possible about my colleagues." Serena gave her a small smile as they wheeled Doctor Brooks into recovery, letting one of the nurses redress her in a hospital gown as they left the room.

"Ah, good, I was just about to come find you both. Doctor Burrows said that there was an incident with Doctor Brooks?"

They looked up at Hanssen in tandem, and Bernie gave him a short nod, starting to guide him over to their office. "Yes, she was stabbed multiple times by a patient. I'm assuming that we'll be required to fill out an incident report with the police?"

There was a short pause before Hanssen gestured towards the lift. "I feel that it would be more appropriate for us to discuss this in a more private setting, Ms Wolfe. Are you coming, too, Serena?"

Her partner nodded and together they trooped over to the lift, waiting for it to arrive. "Why this level of secrecy, Henrik? Is it really warranted?" Serena asked as they slipped inside.

"Unfortunately, yes. Mister Griffin already contacted the local police, however, you will not be dealing with them directly." As Bernie watched, his jaw tightened subtly, and she once more felt like there was something more to this whole situation than just a simple stabbing. But what could it possibly be? As they stepped out of the elevator car and trailed after Hanssen, she took hold of Serena's hand, threading their fingers together as she tried to work out this mystery that surrounded Doctor Brooks.

"Well, here we are, Henrik. Care to fill us in?" Serena asked as she led Bernie over to the low couch that was in the CEO's office, taking a seat and tugging Bernie down next to her.

"We're just waiting on one more person. He should be here in thirty minutes or so, as long as the winds behave themselves."

Bernie frowned deeply, no longer hiding her glare from the man. "Just what the hell is going on? Why all this secrecy? Just tell us so that we can move on with our shifts!"

"Things are a bit too delicate to just blurt this out. First, I need to ensure that you will be able to know certain things about Doctor Brooks' past, and that will require the approval of Mister Easter. As I said, he should arrive in the hour, and until then, we wait. Can I get you any water?" Bernie shook her head violently, feeling the ground beneath her feet start to shift as the realization that there was more to the quiet doctor than any of them had ever known.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena rubbed Bernie's shoulder softly as they both stared at Clyde Easter in quiet confusion. "I'm sorry, run that by me again?" she said lowly as she covered Serena's hand with her own, holding on tightly as they waited for the man from Interpol to speak once more.

"Erin has been in Witness Protection for three years now. At first, it was due to the fact that her life was threatened by a colleague who had deep, intimate, knowledge of her life and family, however, she chose to remain in the program even after it was proven, a year ago, that all those in connection to the Replicator case had been neutralized or killed. The move to England was precipitated by other events in her former life, and her desire to have a clean slate."

"And she's here at Holby because…?" Serena asked, turning her gaze on Hanssen. Bernie was surprised to see the man flinch a little under the scrutiny, and she couldn't help but smirk.

"We needed a new psychologist on staff, and her qualifications more than fit the requirements."

"And just how did you learn about her?"

He shot a nervous glance to Easter, and Bernie wondered what other secrets were about to come to light in the office that day. "Mister Easter was actually the one to contact me. It seems that another member of our staff was a part of the programme at one point, and seeing as how he knew that the CEO of this hospital could be discreet, he inquired to see if I would be amenable to having Erin become a member of our staff. She has performed most admirably over the last few months, and so many people have been helped by her, that I wish to retain her on staff. Do either of you object, knowing what you now know?"

Bernie drew in a deep breath, ready to give her response, when Serena shook her head a little and gave her a soft smile. "I think that we'll need a little more time to mull this over, Henrik, however, my initial reaction is that Doctor Brooks should stay. Jasmine especially seems to have benefited from her expertise, and I would hate to tear that away from her. However, I do have a few questions for Mister Easter."

"Of course," he replied smoothly.

"Erin Brooks clearly has children, they should be contacted about this incident."

"Unfortunately, that is not a viable option at this time. Her children believe that she was murdered by John Curtis, as it was easier to protect her with everyone believing that lie."

"And is there no one from her former life that we can contact if we need more details about her? What if there are complications with her surgery? It was touch and go in theatre there for a moment, and if her recovery is impeded in any way, certainly there's someone out there who would like to know."

Easter blanched a little before shaking his head. "There's literally no one who knows she's alive. It would be a shock, to say the least. However, if I remember correctly, there was one person that she seemed to be closer to, besides her former lover." The man pulled out his phone and quickly scrolled through his contact list, or so Bernie assumed, before stopping and tapping on the screen. Reaching out expectantly, he closed his fingers around the pen that Hanssen held out, scrawling down a bunch of information on the back of a business card. "The front is obviously my information, you'll need it to give to her, since she won't quite believe you without this. I wish you luck, though it goes without saying that for all intents and purposes, Erin Brooks is still a member of the Programme."

Easter stood and strode from the room, leaving the three of them to stare at each other warily. It seemed like no one wanted to speak first, until Serena cleared her throat, drawing all eyes onto herself. "All right, Henrik, are there any other secrets that we need to know about?"

The tips of his ears turned red as he shook his head. "There is nothing else that I can tell you, I promise. And this would never have come out, had Erin not been stabbed."

"And is her last name even Brooks?"

"That I don't know, Serena. She was introduced to me as Erin Brooks, and that's all I know. I chose not to dig more, because I wanted her to feel safe in her anonymity."

"But she sounds as English as you or I!" Bernie protested, finally finding a way to break into the conversation. "If she's American, how can that be?"

"Apparently, she was born in Bournemouth, and lived there until she was ten. And I'll remind you that I am Swedish, Ms Wolfe."

She nodded impatiently as she turned the cared over in her hands, looking at the neat handwriting there. "Still, I would have thought that one of us would have noticed something. I guess that we're not quite as observant of those around us as I'd like to think. What time is it in Quantico?"

"I believe that it is shortly after ten there. Do you want to call your contact here, where there's less likelihood of being overheard?"

"That will perfect, Henrik. Why don't you go do a circuit of the wards and then a small coffee break? We should be done here by the time you finish with that." Serena gave him a cold smile, and he dipped his chin before standing up and gliding from the room. As soon as he was gone, Serena turned to glare at her, and Bernie shrugged her shoulders. "I know, you're not the one keeping major secrets. I just can't believe that my friend would keep something like this from me!"

"He had to, Serena. This is quite serious, you know, even if the threat against her is now over. You have no idea how it is to be entirely cut off from your former life. Hell, neither do I! She's in a place far from home, without her children, without her former friends, and yet she's still here, still smiling, still helping. We owe it to her to treat her kindly."

"I know. None of this is her fault. All right, do you want to make the call, or should I?"

Serena held her hand out towards her, and Bernie handed over the business card. "I suppose that I should. I'm going to pull rank on you, Wolfe, if you don't mind…"

"Please, be my guest. You've always had a better bedside manner, after all." Serena nodded a little as she pulled out her mobile and dialed the foreign number. As Bernie watched, Serena put the call on speaker phone, setting the phone on the desk before reaching out for her hand, clasping it tightly as they waited for an answer.

"Hello? You've reached FBI Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia. Who is this?" It took a second for Serena to answer, and they both heard the woman on the other end of the line draw in a sharp breath. "I know you're calling from England. It's not funny to make crank calls."

"I am not pranking you, Ms Garcia," Serena said frostily, and Bernie quirked up one eyebrow as she smirked. Her lover glared at her a little, squeezing her hand roughly as she cleared her throat. "I was actually given your number by a Clyde Easter?"

There was a longer silence over the phone, and Bernie had to wonder if the call had been dropped. International calls were finicky, she remembered that from her calls home to Cam and Charlotte when she was in Afghanistan. "I'm sorry. Who are you?"

"Serena Campbell, co-lead of the Acute Admissions Unit at Holby City Hospital."

"Has Easter been injured? Does Emily need to head over there? Wait, that doesn't make sense, he would call Emily himself, instead of giving you my information. So that means there's some other reason for you to call. Our international team is in Turkey right now, so it's not any of them. So, why are you calling?"

"I do hope you're sitting down, Ms Garcia. What I'm about to tell you will be a shock to your system, and something that you are going to need to keep in the strictest of confidences. When I'm finished telling you, you'll understand the need for secrecy."

 


End file.
